Principal of Jewish HS found guilty of molesting 3 brothers

Principal of Jewish HS found guilty of molesting 3 brothers

The former principal of Elite High School, a private school on Benson Avenue, was found guilty of sex abuse and other charges. Photo from Google Earth

By Paula Katinas

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The former principal of a private school in Bensonhurst has been convicted of multiple counts of sexually abusing three young brothers, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced Dec. 3.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 33, who formerly served as principal of Elite High School, at 2115 Benson Ave., abused his three victims on numerous occasions over the course of 10 years, Hynes said.

The boys were not students at Elite High School, officials said. Elite is a private school that largely serves the Russian Jewish immigrant community in Bensonhurst, according to the blog www.bensonhurstbean.com.

Yegutkin was convicted before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Riviezzo on 75 counts of charges including course of sexual conduct against a child, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child. The top charge, course of sexual conduct against a child, carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Yegutkin will be back in court on December 17 at which time a date for sentencing will be announced.

“This violent sexual predator faces the remainder of his life behind bars,” Hynes said. “This should serve as a clear message that those who would sexually abuse children in this county will be punished severely,” the district attorney.

Yegutkin became a close friend of the victims’ family after attending the school where the victims’ father worked, and visited their home frequently, Hynes said. From 1996 to 2005, Yegutkin sexually abused two of the boys when they were ages seven to 15-years-old, and in 2008, exposed the third boy to pornography. He forced them to perform sex acts including fondling and oral sex. Yegutkin was arrested in January, 2009.

All three victims testified against Yegutkin at the trial, which began on Oct. 18. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, began deliberations on Nov. 29. They returned with a verdict on Dec. 3, finding Yegutkin guilty on all 75 counts.

The case was prosecuted by Rachel Schmidt, first deputy bureau chief of the sex crimes bureau and Lauren Traum, senior trial attorney of the sex crimes bureau. Rhonnie Jaus is chief of the sex crimes bureau.

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